New Nissan Townstar electric van: e-NV200 successor revealed

Nissan has unveiled the replacement for its long-serving e-NV200 compact electric van. Called the Townstar, the new van is a sister model to the second-generation Renault Kangoo E-TECH and the recently unveiled Mercedes eCitan.

On the outside, it incorporates design cues inspired by Nissan's upcoming Ariya electric family SUV, with distinctive LED headlamps and a smoothed-off front end. The electric Townstar gets a 44kWh battery for a claimed range of 177 miles – a significant increase on the e-NV200's official figure of 124 miles. Maximum power and torque are 90kW and 245Nm respectively.

The van will come with 11kW on-board charging capability as standard, with the option to upgrade to 22kW for the fastest possible charging from a three-phase power supply. The 11kW configuration offers the option of battery cooling, which is standard if you go for the 22kW on-board charger. It'll also be possible to rapid charge the electric Townstar from public stations at up to 75kW, which is sufficient to return an empty battery to 80% capacity in just under 45 minutes.

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Inside, cargo space is up to 4.3 cubic metres, while the can van can accommodate up to two Euro pallets and has a maximum payload of 800kg. There's also a maximum towing capacity 1,500kg. Like the e-NV200, the Townstar will continue to have a combustion-engined equivalent, but the zero-emissions model is expected to account for an ever-increasing proportion of sales as more cities introduce low or zero-emission zones in the coming years.

Nissan is making a wide range of driver-assistance and collision-avoidance systems available on the Townstar, including side-wind and trailer assistance, as well as intelligent emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, hands-free parking and intelligent cruise control. A 360-degree parking camera, called Around View Monitor (AVM), is also available.

A full suite of connectivity features will also be on offer, encompassing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as wireless phone charging and features specific to the electric version that will help with charging and fleet management. An eight-inch dashboard touchscreen and 10-inch driver's display will be standard on the electric model.

In tandem with revealing the Townstar, Nissan has also rebranded the other vans in its line-up, with the NV300 becoming the Primastar and the NV400 becoming the Interstar. It's not yet known whether either or both of those larger models will also get electric drivetrains in due course.